Landfills collect considerable amount of municipal waste which serves the best reservoir for the generation and emission of bioaerosols due to the presence of organic matter of the deposited materials. The activities carried out at the landfill site has a significant impact on the environment and the public health. Bioaerosols (biological aerosols) consist of aerosols particles originated biologically as either fully active component or as whole or part of inactive fragments, they are ubiquitously present in the environment. Bioaerosols have been the least investigated pollutant in nature due to their complex structure. Considering public health and safety, there is an urgent need for the identification and quantification of bioaerosols, defining its exposure threshold levels and the impact of bioaerosols on human health. In this study, we calculated and determined the inhalable (PM_2.5) particulate matter concentration and associated bioaerosol (bacterial & fungal) concentration at the MSW landfill site in Nagpur and additionally its upwind and downwind direction. A total of 27 fungi and 21 bacteria were found in this study. Measurements were carried out using AirMetrics MiniVol Air Sampler and collected samples were analyzed using culture-based methods. PM_2.5 concentration and bioaerosol CFU count were compared, which showed the dominance of bacterial bioaerosol over fungal bioaerosol at the landfill site. The average total bioaerosol concentration for bacteria and fungi was found to be 12137.6 CFU/m³ and 1549.5 CFU/m³ respectively at the landfill site, while at the downwind site it was 1044.9 CFU/m³ and 646.4 CFU/m³ of bacteria and fungal bioaerosol concentration respectively. we have calculated bioaerosols of aerodynamic size > 2.5 mm and found dominance of bacterial bioaerosol suggesting a potential impact on the deeper regions of the respiratory tracks if any pathogenic bacteria are present.

Keywords Bioaerosols, Landfill site, Colony forming unit (CFU)